Stepdaughter, boyfriend convicted in $700,000 Sanger fraud scheme

A Sanger businessman’s estate was drained of more than $800,000 after his stepdaughter and her boyfriend used his name on fraudulent loan applications and impersonated him, a Fresno County jury found.

The convictions of Gina Abercrombie and Justin Teel closed a case centered on the late Randall "Randy" Hansen, the former PGA professional who owned Sherwood Forest Golf Club in Sanger and helped build it with his parents more than 50 years ago. Hansen died in 2020. He was born in Buffalo, New York, on April 10, 1945, and had been a well-known figure in the local golf and business community.

Prosecutors said the scheme ran from Feb. 9, 2017, through Jan. 31, 2022, and continued after Hansen’s death. Court evidence showed the pair used Hansen’s name on fraudulent business loan applications while posing as him, then took money tied to his estate. During trial, prosecutors initially put the loss at more than $700,000 before later saying the evidence showed more than $800,000 was stolen.

The case carried added weight in Fresno County because it involved family trust inside Hansen’s own circle. Stacy Hansen Dovali testified that after her father suffered a stroke in 2017, she helped run errands, took him to medical appointments and attended physical therapy with him. She also said she was told house cleaner and caretaker Beverly Rutherford had spread rumors that Dovali was poisoning her father, a claim that left her feeling like she was "in the Twilight Zone."

Rutherford had already accepted a plea deal, and another suspect from Arizona also faced charges. Abercrombie and Teel were arrested in Pleasanton in Alameda County in 2023 before being tried in Fresno County Superior Court.

Teel, who had previously gone by Justin Linder, also had a prior conviction in a multi-county fraud case involving more than $11 million in real-estate, mortgage and welfare fraud.

Sentencing is set for June 29, and the defendants face a maximum sentence of about five years and four months in prison. For Fresno County families, small-business owners and caregivers, the case is a reminder that the deepest losses can come from people already inside the room.